About the Program

The MS in Biomedicine and Digital Media program intersects science, technology, entrepreneurship, and interactive digital art design and animation. This skills-based program is for individuals interested in media design and production careers with an emphasis in health and science.

Graduates of this program will be prepared to progress into more advanced graduate studies in science or digital media and/or careers in scientifically oriented media/communication jobs in the public or private sector (e.g., academic, scientific publishing and media companies), or lead their new ventures in digital imaging.

Curriculum

This is an interdisciplinary hybrid (blended) program offered by the College of Medicine. The science courses, which are offered online are taught by faculty from Drexel University College of Medicine's Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease. Certain elective courses are available face-to-face. Faculty from Drexel University's College of Media Arts and Design teach the digital media courses which are offered face-to-face.

This non-thesis program consists of required and elective courses in science and digital media and a flexible internship or experiential learning component. Students can customize their plan of study by selecting from a list of advanced science or digital media elective courses. Students must complete a minimum of 36.0 semester credits to graduate.

Please view the Degree Requirements and Sample Plan of Study for more details.

Full-time and Part-Time Options

Students may meet the degree requirements in either a full-time (at least 9.0 credits per semester) or part-time basis.Full-time students generally complete the program in 2 years. Part-time students must complete the program within six years. Students must enroll in at least 4.5 semester credits of College of Medicine courses to qualify for financial aid. For information regarding financial aid, please visit Drexel Central.

Program Contact Information

For questions about the curriculum and program goals, please contact one of the Program Directors:

For questions about how to apply to the program, please contact an enrollment counselor at duonline@drexel.edu and provide your contact information and someone will follow up with you.

Admission Requirements

For acceptance into the MS in Biomedicine and Digital Media program, post-college applicants must have completed a four-year degree program. An undergraduate degree in digital media, biology, chemistry-based bachelor’s degree program, or equivalent is preferred but not required. Although a minimum of cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 is strongly desired, an applicant with a lower cumulative GPA will be considered if other strengths are apparent in the application.

Applicants must also fulfill the following requirements for consideration as defined by the Program Advisory Committee and the Graduate Program Committee (Curriculum & Evaluation Subcommittee) within the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies at the College of Medicine:

Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended

Essay/personal statement

Resume

References from at least three instructors or professionals

Official test scores from graduate admission exams, such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), are optional but highly desirable.

International applicants (non-United States citizens) must meet the same requirements for admission as students from the United States. Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate the ability to speak, write, and understand the English language by submitting an acceptable score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). IELTS scores may be submitted in lieu of TOEFL scores. An evaluation by World Education Services (WES) is required for transcripts from institutions outside the United States.

Online applications are accepted all year round, but all admitted students initiate their studies in the following fall semester. Students are encouraged to apply no later than July 1 for consideration for admission the following fall semester. Students may defer admission by one year.

Program Contact Information

For questions about how to apply to the program, please contact an enrollment counselor at duonline@drexel.edu.

Degree Requirements

Courses with the MIIM or IDPT designation are offered by Drexel University College of Medicine and are taught in semester terms (fall and spring). These courses are available in a traditional (face-to-face), hybrid, and/or online formats. Most of these traditional courses and hybrid courses are offered in the evenings at either the Center City Campus or the Queen Lane Campus.

Courses offered by Westphal College of Media Arts and Design are designated as DIGM. They are taught face-to-face in quarter terms (fall, winter, spring and summer) at the University City Campus (Building No. 71 in the University City Campus map). The University City campus is a 10-minute walk from Center City, the core of Philadelphia's commercial and business district. Shuttle service is available between campuses.

There are several ways to customize the experiential learning component (2.0 - 6.0 semester credits) so that it satisfies both the degree requirements and, especially, the student’s own personal situation. The duration of the internship may vary. Shorter rotations may require that the student enroll in elective courses to meet the semester credit requirements for degree.

Please note that the credits for the DIGM courses shown below are shown in quarter credits. Three (3.0) credit quarter courses confer the equivalent of 2.0 semester credits. The program required the completion of 36.0 semester credits for graduation. Semesters and quarters overlap sufficiently to allow full-time students to meet the degree requirements for this program in two years.

Science courses are offered on a semester basis, and digital media courses are offered on a quarter basis. Semesters and quarters overlap sufficiently to allow students to meet the degree requirements in 2.5 years. The formula to convert quarter credit hours to semester credit hours is: Number of quarter credit hours x 0.6667 = Number of semester credit hours. Therefore a 3.0 quarter credit course will convert to 2.0 semester credits. This program requires a minimum of 36.0 semester credits to meet the degree requirements.

Sample Plan of Study

Below is a sample full-time plan of study that can be completed in two years. Students may also opt to enroll part-time. Part-time students must complete the program within six years. To learn more about part-time options, please contact the Program Director, Sandra Urdaneta-Hartmann, MD, PhD, MBA at slu@drexel.edu for more information.

Writing-intensive Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

For additional information, and an up-to-date list of the writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Drexel University Writing Center page